20 replies to this topic

[zEVerzan]

Religions, for millenia, have shamed their followers for being horrible, flawed beings. Most of these religions have become so pervasive in world cultures that merely showing a naked human body (you know, the one everyone has) triggers a double take. People get OFFENDED. People get GROSSED OUT. The human body is so taboo it's used for comedic effect on raunchy television because it's so rebellious to show it.

 

As an art student, I've had my share of life drawing classes. At first I was pretty grossed out by all the dicks, but now I don't really mind it. When I see someone else cringe or snicker at a dick, I can't help but think, "What a child, he's probably a first-year".

 

With the phasing out of religion from our culture, could there be a future generation of adults that is completely fine with human anatomy?

[Raklian]

People have been TAUGHT to get offended at the sight of a naked person. Part of it is group-think and the subconcious fear of being ridiculed.

 

Look at primitive tribes - people naked walk around each other all the time and they don't freak out. It is simply because they haven't gotten to the point where it is necessary to have a reason to be embarrassed with your own nakedness.

 

If we remove or change this conditioning (NAKED = UNCOMFORTABLE, BAD, etc.), you can bet things will be different.

[Italian Ufo]

I just did a social experiment on my facebook the other day. I posted on my profile a huge vagina created by an artist.

Pareers have been mixed. Many said that the representation was of a bad taste while other enjoyed it even women.

It seems that the more we go on the more we get less ashamed of our body.

Eventually what you say it will take place but in two centuries if I can a guess. When humans started to abolish divisions, when we want to re-discover our free consciousness and nature...and anyway.. global warming may contribute to it too.

[Italian Ufo]

Thats  how people should go to work! its fun!

[MarcZ]

I don't think so. Beyond nudity being taboo, you must also remember that how you dress is completely related to how people form an impression or judge you. Someone dressed in fancy expensive clothing will be widely perceived to be rich and important, while as someone in rags will be considered to be poor, underachieving, etc etc... I would assume that nudity would be considered things that would not be practical for any serious career-focused and objective person.

[kjaggard]

I really don't know that religion is the deciding factor, I know it's tangled in the issue in a few places but I'm pretty sure it's not the main thing.

 

simply put it not god or sin the trips people up around nudity. From what I've ever seen, it's a matter of certain body parts are for sex. When they are not being used for that function then they are put away. Out of site out of mind. when they are exposed, so is the connection to sex. If a heterosexual male sees another mans sexual organs it can be uncomfortable because it brings a sense of sexual significance between them.

[Raklian]

I really don't know that religion is the deciding factor, I know it's tangled in the issue in a few places but I'm pretty sure it's not the main thing.

 

simply put it not god or sin the trips people up around nudity. From what I've ever seen, it's a matter of certain body parts are for sex. When they are not being used for that function then they are put away. Out of site out of mind. when they are exposed, so is the connection to sex. If a heterosexual male sees another mans sexual organs it can be uncomfortable because it brings a sense of sexual significance between them.

 

One solution is desensitization. Do adverse therapy for a bit and many of us will be bound to see each other's privates as if they were just clothes.

 

Still, the issue of each other smelling phermones from one other... well, needs to be worked out somehow.

[zEVerzan]

I'm not saying, "can we stop wearing clothes in public"? I want to know if it'll stop making any difference as to whether or not people wear clothes. Clothes are essential to the fabric of society (heheh) and they serve very important functions, namely shielding our bodies from the elements and keeping us warm.

 

Kjaggard, I know for a fact that America's general prudishness comes from our Puritan forebears. That's why America is pretty much the only free nation without topless beaches. A common American comedy trope is "fat European guy in a speedo".

[Malgidus]

Clothes are essential to the fabric of society (heheh) and they serve very important functions, namely shielding our bodies from the elements and keeping us warm.

 

Very nice pun, sir! And indeed, I agree with you, and for this reason, clothes are here to stay at least until a singularity or two. Not to mention that in the future clothes will serve even more useful functions, e.g. protecting you from harm, charging your cell phone.

However, some will always opt for nudity and I imagine we will become desensitized and it may become more or less normal, perhaps even accepted in certain parts of the world. It's probably much too cold here to be practical except in July/August.

[Zeitgeist123]

im seeing polyamory as a common practice in the far future...

[Italian Ufo]

 polyamory I want to practice  right now! I fee that men ( often more then women) can love more then one lady. That being said it would be difficult to manage a menage a trois relationship for example. Dramma, jealousy, luck of intimicy, worring about other feels and so on would be hard to manage. I have been there in a similar situation once.

[Zeitgeist123]

i think this guy explained it well...surprisingly, people in a polyamouros relationship gets less sex and invests more on the emotional aspect of the relationships. btw, swinging is not polyamory. and threesome or menage a trois is not necesarily polyamorous since its more focused on the sex part.

 

Edited by Zeitgeist123, 10 January 2013 - 01:53 AM.

[Alric]

I think there is a decent chance that the taboo will disappear. Things change all the time, and it isn't even one of the biggest taboos around anymore. People are a lot freer with sex and stuff today than they were years ago, so it seems like we are already going down that road. 

[kjaggard]

I'm not saying, "can we stop wearing clothes in public"? I want to know if it'll stop making any difference as to whether or not people wear clothes. Clothes are essential to the fabric of society (heheh) and they serve very important functions, namely shielding our bodies from the elements and keeping us warm.

 

Kjaggard, I know for a fact that America's general prudishness comes from our Puritan forebears. That's why America is pretty much the only free nation without topless beaches. A common American comedy trope is "fat European guy in a speedo".

 

I'm not saying there are no religious hang ups about nudity, but I am saying religions are not causatively correlated to our nudity aversion. Aversion to whole or partial nudity in public predates monotheism in western culture. And it's to do primariliy with that nudity being equated to sexual promiscuity. Essentially clothing has long since become a symbol of distinguishing private life and public life. and the levels of clothing even more so. somebody in a tank top and sweat pants is usually not at work. Likewise a three piece suit with tie is not often sitting at home in front of the TV with take out food (at the very least you undo your tie, and likely remove you jacket). These qualities exist even in atheists as well as 'puritans'.

 

Clothing also serves as a means of self expression. I wear a lot of waist coats and henley shirts, one housemate tends toward polo shirts and the other to button down shirts. in casual environments they sometimes go with T-shirts or sweatshirts. My casual is waistcoats and henley. On the occasions where I was on television I tend to wear a business button down shirt and dressier trousers (my usual style in that tends toward the sort of uniform pants you see on professional appliance repairmen. sort of a cross between dress trousers and cargo pants). It's a form of self design.

 

That's why I think clothing will continue to be the default expectation of everybody in public. Until such time as we and decouple nudity from sex, AND alter our bodies as a means of self expression and personal image design (which means also being able to change that at a later time should you choose to do so, and even being able to change it at different functions during the day day wear and evening wear if you will), the use of nudity will still be the most 'vulnerable' and most 'exposed' for of appearing in public.

 

But there are already active explorations to allow some levels of nudity to be as allowable a form of self expression. For example Top Free http://www.tera.ca/

[Demo]

The taboo is mostly an American thing (in the west), if you look at television anything with nudity in it is rated 15/18 (or whatever your equivilent is), however things with people being blown up are frequently low rated.

In Europe it's the other way around, on the continent you can buy nudy magazines pretty much anywhere and I have seen adverts with almost full frontal nudity. As religion dies out, and people start to think things through you realise there is no reason for the taboo. However as people have said that doesn't mean people will start to just walk around nude. Clothes are a status symbol, not to mention temperature regulator. Really though, who wants to look at a hairy old scrotum when they are trying to work?

[Casey]

I just did a social experiment on my facebook the other day. I posted on my profile a huge vagina created by an artist.

Pareers have been mixed. Many said that the representation was of a bad taste while other enjoyed it even women.

It seems that the more we go on the more we get less ashamed of our body.

Eventually what you say it will take place but in two centuries if I can a guess. When humans started to abolish divisions, when we want to re-discover our free consciousness and nature...and anyway.. global warming may contribute to it too.

 

Well, vaginas do... look kind of nasty (that one especially). I wonder if there would be a higher percentage of acceptance if you posted a sculpture of a giant pair of breasts, which are a thousand times more wonderful than vaginas.

[Italian Ufo]

Vaginas are awesome. Especially without hair and well cleaned. They can smell like Peach or  the fragance Chanel N° 5

LOL

[inkybinky3]

I hope that nudity is aloud soon...

 

I like your minecraft recourse pack!

[Colonel O'Neil]

It will disappear eventually. I think in a few centuries, people won't really look like people anymore anyway, rendering this argument redundant. Nudity is taboo, is really an extraordinarily primitive mindset, and it was created by a unique set of social conditions.

 

Once we can change our appearance at will, the whole thing will seem a bit ridiculous.

[FutureOfToday]

I doubt it. Nudity will probably always be seen as taboo, and public nudity will certainly always be frowned upon.